Hi,

I'v been reading a lot of the topics and I find it very interesting!!

I'v done social ballroom/latin for 6 months. I have a great teacher, but have discovered that he is actually just learning me new steps. I had a couple of lessons with a friend who is a standard/latin comp dancer (competing for ten years). He tried to explain to me weight transfere and move my body before my feet. My social teacher have never done that. I want to practise this, but do not know how.
And, when I do ballroom I do not feel that there is enough contact between me and my teacher,--> not close enough.

How to I explain this to my teacher, I do not feel that I have enough knowledge to tell him what I want. And, how do I tell him without hurting his ego..;)

Cherio!
Mila

I'm thinking that the reason why you're not having much contact and not learning much styling technicique is because of how long you've been dancing. It might be that your teacher is just trying to show you where to place your feet for right now and then as you get more advanced you'll learn more styling and technique. Steps don't make the dancer but they sure do help!

You Haven't Truly Made It Until Your Head Is On A Pez Dispenser

Mila,

You have hit upon the issue when selecting a dance instructor and that is "Is this instructor a social or competition teacher?".

It sounds like your instructor is a social dance instructor. And they have different goals for students than say your dancer friend. Their goal is mainly to get you out on the dance floor asap and have fun. Yeah, you might not look good, but at least you're dancing. The great part about social dance instructors is you concentrate on lead and following, and you develop basic dance floor survival skills rather quickly.

While on the other hand, competition instructors spend a lot of time on technique and looking good in frame and on the dance floor. And, personally, I think that a good amount of lead and following skills are lost, because the students are typically taught a routine and not how to get out of a problem area.

(Of course, I'm just generalizing based on social dance partners, who've got the look, but I had a tough time following. This not true of everyone. please don't hurt me )

I've been lucky enough to find a competition instructor, who also wants his students to be good social dancers and enjoy the dance floor. But that was a year after doing social dancing.

But ask your instructor for more about body mechanics or for more of a competition style lesson. He should be able to provide if he has the knowledge and he isn't in a studio that restricts him to teach a syllabus. Otherwise, you might want to start asking around to find an instructor that would be a better match for you and your goals.

Good Luck,
TheDit

A teacher will have to teach a 2nd grader something she/he can understand and absorb.

A 10-year vetern competitor can tell you a lot of things that is totally over your head. It's like a college student talking advanced neuclear physics to a 2nd grader.

I think it would be "too much" to learn your steps PLUS styling/technique in the very beginning. First of all, you're still (a little) overwhelmed with what kind of stuff you have to do with your feet! How shocked will you be when you hear that you'll have to pay attention to your posture, arm styling, keeping up with the tempo, rise and fall at the right times etc. too? (I'd lose motivation for sure! )

The reason why your teacher is only teaching you the steps, is because he doesn't want to give you too much to work on in the beginning. He wants you to develop your "muscle-memory" before going on to the next step (which is styling/technique). After all: when you don't have to think about *where* to place your feet anymore, you can give styling/technique all the attention it deserves

It could be he is just a social danceteacher (like the previous posts said ), if that's the case and you want get more out of your dancing, I'd suggest either mentioning it to him, or finding yourself another teacher.

Good luck!

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero." - Horace